Kingdom Hearts: The Choice
by adaftpunk
Summary: Sora and The gang have finally been enjoying the rest that they well deserve, but when Cloud shows up at there door with a young boy named Caden, They must once again take up arms and end the struggle once and for all. First story.
1. Of Darkness and Clouds

The sky was beginning to darken and the last bastions of light were giving way to the darkness of the night. A father and his son were sitting on a beach watching the night sky each quiet in their own wonderings.

The father reached out and ruffled his sons hair "Caden, how about we head up to the house, its getting dark."

Caden turned to his father and smiled "Alright dad." With out another word he stood up and raced down the beach towards the stairs to his house.

His father jumped up and gave chase "Wont even give your old man a head start, now that is cold." He laughed as he ran across the sand.

Caden looked back at his rapidly gaining father and grinned. He turned his head to the fading horizon and pounded his feet away into the sand. He could feel the granules bunching up between his toes as he ran. Before he could get much farther he could feel a strong hand grab him around the middle and hoist him up over strong shoulders.

Caden pounded on his dads back with his fists "Awe come on put me down dad someone might see." His father just laughed and dropped him down into the sand. "You should know by now not to mess with your old man."

Caden just punched him in the shoulder "Yea whatever give it a few more years and ill be able to run circles around you."

His father just smiled "Yes but that is a long way away now isn't it."

Caden turned and started walking up the stairs to their house " sure sure come on I am hungry."

His fathers faced kept the grin as he followed his son inside.

* * *

_**Caden. It is time.**_

Caden shot up at the sound of the voice, throwing his covers to the floor. His eyes searched the room, looking for the source of the voice.

He sat there rubbing his eyes when he saw the faint movement of a shadow in the corner of his room. He froze. He crawled farther back into his bed as the shadow slowly gained form and approached the side of his bed, its yellow eyes seemingly endless in there emptiness.

It was small but still unlike anything he had ever seen before. He sat scrunched up in fear looking at the strange denizen of the darkness for what seemed and eternity. He wondered what it wanted.

"_It doesn't even look that scary". _Caden thought.

" _it even looks kinda friendly."_

The little creature just kept its yellow gaze fixed on Caden. He slowly reached out his hand to the dark little man and tried his best to look like he did not mean any harm.

Suddenly the creature leapt forward and latched on to his arm, seemingly nonexistent

claws digging into his flesh. Caden leapt off the bed screaming in pain,shaking his arm

to try and rid himself of his fiendish passenger. As he went flailing about his room he

noticed more and more yellow eyes staring at him out of the darkness. He frantically threw the demon off and into a wall, where it promptly migrated into the wall and shadowed its way down to the floor.

With a yell Caden tore from his room and down the hall way. As he ran he could see hundreds of yellow eyes taking shape all around him. His heart was beating at an incredible rate as were his feet. He jumped down the flight of stairs and landed on the floor next to his parents bed room.

"DAD!" "There is som...... d-dad?"

He froze as he saw that the roof had been torn off and his father were floating high over head limp and lifeless under the hand of a giant...shadow. It towered over everything. Its body was composed of giant wisps of darkness that swirled ever outward and seemed to be swallowing the world whole. Caden fell back as turned its glowering gaze on him.

_**Caden. Do not be afraid of the darkness.**_

Caden looked wildly around for the source of the voice but all he could see was the ever enclosing darkness that was consuming everything he loved.

He looked up and saw his father dangling like a broken toy suspended by some unseen force from the hand of the dark monstrosity that had destroyed his home. Caden looked on in horror as what seemed to be a glowing heart was ripped from his fathers chest and consumed by the titan. Caden did not know what was happening but somehow felt that his father was gone. His father that had been the only guiding force in his life was now gone. Caden broke down and started to sob. His father was absorbed into the darkness and it slowly started to come for Caden.

_**This is the end of all that you are.**_

The voice sounded once again, and just as last time there was nothing in sight.

Caden crawled on his back never taking his eyes off the evil that was in front of him.

He looked around for some avenue to escape, his vision blurred by the still fresh tears that stained his face. He got up and started to run over the rubble that was once his home. He climbed over the broken wall and started to sprint across the sand towards the ocean. He stumbled over and fell as the darkness devoured the sky

_**This is the beginning of what you shall become**_

"JUST SHUT UP" Caden screamed as he went crashing into the waves

Caden turned and looked at his life. The sky was a black void. His house was slowly breaking apart and being vacuumed up into the dark emptiness. The Leviathan of darkness slowly stood up to its full height and raised its hand to the swirling void. Caden could only look on in horror as a towering wave of darkness began to build growing larger and larger until it seemed that it would cave and fall at any second. Finally it reached its dark apex and came crashing down onto the sand at an uncontrollable rate.

The waves around him were broiling and Caden could feel the salt stinging his eyes. The darkness was almost upon him now. It was moving at an incredible speed across the ground like an army of shadows whose soul purpose was his destruction. Caden knew he only had seconds before the darkness hit him. He brought up his arms in defense

_**No matter how great the darkness, One can choose to be the light.**_

Darkness rushed around Caden and engulfed him merging with the water around him.

He blindly flailed as he fell back into the water. He began to panic as the darkness filled his very mind. He couldn't feel, he couldn't breathe. He was becoming the darkness, and the darkness him. He began to feel numb. As he began slipping away he thought about his life that was taken and the life of his father that had already been stolen

"_Why_." Was the only thought that ran through his head before he succumbed to the darkness and floated into oblivion.

* * *

Caden awoke on a beach. He Laid there for what seemed to be an eternity, eyes closed as if opening them would confirm last nights events. Finally he risked a peek. There was no darkness in the sky. Caden slowly sat up and looked around.

What he saw took his breath away. He was on a veritable island paradise. There were palm trees swaying in the afternoon breeze, with wonderful looking star shaped fruits dangling close to the branches. Caden slowly stood up and brushed the sand off him self. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, it seemed as if he had just awoken from an extremely long rest. While rubbing his eyes he noticed a small black mark on the back of his hand, he brought it up to his eyes for closer inspection and realized that it was in the shape of a keyhole. A small one, but distinct none the less. He tried rubbing it off but to no avail. He sighed and brought his hands to the back of his head.

It was at this moment that everything really hit Caden. His father was dead. His home was gone and He was probably going crazy to top it all off. His knees could not take the stress and began to give out. He fell back into the sand and fought to hold back tears. Caden did not know how long he lie in the sand, just wanting everything to be over. He unfurled and lay spread eagle in the sand. The sun felt so good on his face. He Opened his eyes and just stared into the sky thinking about his father and all that he meant to him.

Suddenly there was a great burst of light and out of no where, From what seemed to be a tear in the sky a blonde haired man fell to the earth with a thud. Caden quickly got up and ran over to the man. As he reached him he saw that he was badly injured. His eyes were closed and his breaths were coming fewer and farther in between. As Caden peered over the man, wondering who he could be, the mans hand shot up and grabbed his shoulder. Caden tried to break his grasp but he could not. the man pulled himself up face to face with Caden and started to rasp out what seemed to be his last words.

"Tell Tifa that she was my light, Tell her that I defeated my darkness."

At these words the man started to cough up blood. It flecked down on Caden, speckling his shirt and pants. The man fell back and lay till in the sand, his blood slowly mixing into the golden granules. Caden did not know why but he felt strong sense of loss come over him. As he surveyed the mans wounds he shook his head in wonderment. There were massive cuts covering the majority of his body , and what seemed to be multiple stab wounds in his stomach. Caden could not fathom how this man had been able to even say anything. Caden stood up and and gazed out across the sea, just trying to make sense of all that had happened. He would have laughed If someone told him that the darkness really was an evil force bent on destruction, or that people could fall from great portals of light.

Caden stared back down at the man and noticed that he was still breathing! How could this be possible. For the first time He noticed the giant sword that lay firm in the mans right hand.

"_Jeez_." Caden thought to him self. "_That thing looks like it ways a freaking ton. how could that skinny guy even lift it?" _

Discarding these thoughts Caden went about trying to help the man. Caden new the basics of first aid but there was no way that he could deal with injuries of this stature.

He decided that he needed to get the man in some kind of shelter. There was none to be found how ever. He looked at the palm trees swaying in the wind and then looked at the monster of a sword that was resting on the sand.

"_Worth a try._" thought Caden. He walked over and picked up the sword with both hands. It was extremely heavy but not so much as Caden first imagined. He hefted the blade up over one shoulder in order not to strain him self carrying it over. He walked down the beach a ways to a smaller tree._ "Well, here goes nothing"_ Caden thought as he unshouldered the hefty blade. He shifted his weight around on his feet and tried to take a stance like all those heroes that he saw in movies make. He leaned back and brought his arms across his front swinging the sword with all his might. The shock of hitting the wood that he expected never came. The blade passed right through the trunk of the palm tree and the momentum carried Caden into a full rotation as it flew from his hands and spun a few times in the air before coming to a halt quivering with its blade sticking in the ground.

"Holy shit!" Caden proclaimed. He regained his balance and looked at the damage the sword had done. The palm tree had been completely severed. There was a perfect diagonal line where the sword had sliced cleanly through the wood with out so much as a fraction of resistance. He walked over and grabbed the sword from the ground and with a few short pulls he had it free from the sand. He continued for the remainder of the day, hacking away at the palm trees and dragging them over to the blonde man. He began to fashion the trees into a small shelter over the man. It took him all day and he had finally finished by the time the sun was setting. He stuck the sword into the ground and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"_Wow that looks horrible."_ He thought with a grimace. _"Oh well. Its not like I built shelters for a living back home." _

He finished looking over his meager shelter and turned his eyes to the man laying beneath it. He was actually in quite good shape just not bulked out like one would assume from the sword he carried. Caden noticed that the mans wounds in fact looked slightly better, but he was still completely unconscious. Caden just shook his head.

"_This guy cant be normal, but I am going to do my best to help him." _

Caden began gathering some of the smaller branches from the trees he cut down. he noticed one of the star shaped fruits dangling from the tip. He reached out and grabbed it. His eyes ran over it looking for any indication that it would harm him. After a few seconds of debate he took a huge bite. It was delicious! He quickly devoured it and set about gathering the rest of the sticks. He brought them over to the lean-to and began to make a fire. In about thirty minutes he had a comfortable blaze going. Caden leaned back on his hands and turned his attention back to the sword. He had not really noticed before but it was a master work. It was almost as tall as he was and the blade was wider than any he had ever seen, being almost a foot and a half in width. Caden noticed the bandages that were wrapped around the blade. Almost as if it had been injured and the man had been attempting to heal it. Caden looked back at the man who was now Breathing comfortably and looked like he was sleeping peacefully now. his wounds had all but healed but he still had not opened his eyes. Caden turned his attention to the setting sun, hoping that this night would hold no darkness for him.

_ The sky was beginning to darken and the last bastions of light were giving way to the darkness of the night. A father and his son were sitting on a beach watching the night sky each quiet in their own wonderings._

_The father reached out and ruffled his sons hair "Caden, how about we head up to the house, its getting dark."_

_Caden turned to his father and smiled "Alright dad." With out another word he stood up and raced down the beach towards the stairs to his house. He made it to the stairs and ran up to the door. He turned and saw his father coming up the stairs behind him. Caden smiled and turned to the closed door. He slowly reached out with one hand and grabbed the door nob._

_**Caden. CHOOSE!**_

Caden's eyes shot open. He slowly sat up and leaned on his hands. Looking around the camp sight he noticed that The man was gone along with the sword. Quickly he stood up and looked around for any sign of the man. The fire had died down and was now on its last breath, The flames dancing with the shadows all over the the sand. Caden walked down to the shores edge and stared out over the dark sea. Caden sat down with his feet in the damp sand with a deep sigh, he wished he could have at least found out the mans name. Caden was in trouble and that man looked as if he was a warrior.

"_If those dark....monsters come back, I have to be ready." _

He had to figure out what was going on. He wasnt even sure If he was on the same beach as his home was. He sure had not seen That star fruit before. Caden sighed as his mind drifted back to his home. His eyes hardened as he thought of his father. His fist balled up at his sides and unshed tears sprang to his eyes. He brought up a sleeve of his jacket and wiped it across his eyes.

"_Dad, I really could use some help right now."_

Caden was brought out of his reverie by the sounds of something at the campsite. He turned and saw a sea of yellow eyes staring at him from just beyond the light of the fire. Caden did not breathe. He did not make a sound.

_**Caden Go!**_

In a split second Caden was in full sprint for the fire. The dark horrors all began to charge him. They did not make a sound as they flew across the sand.

Caden ran to the fire and as he ran past to reached in and snatched a fiery log with one hand. The darkness was slowly surrounding him.

Every way he turned the yellow glare followed him. Hundreds of creatures surrounded him. You could almost feel their anticipation. Caden brandished the log as a sword and swished it back and forth, attempting to keep the darkness at bay. He could not do it forever though. The fire on his stick was going out fast and it seemed the demons were just toying with him. Caden was frightened but tried not to show it. He thought about his father and he could slowly feel the fright in his heart be replaced by the righteous anger he felt over the death of his father. He squared off against the encroaching darkness and threw down his dying light.

"Come on then! IM RIGHT HERE!" He yelled at the darkness. He wanted to fight it. He wanted to hurt it. He wanted revenge. The sea of yellow eyes swarmed toward him and braced him self for what he thought would be his last stand.

Out of nowhere there was a whooshing noise and a glint of light of something mettalic. Caden shielded his eyes as a line of the dark creatures went up in a puff of purple and black smoke. Caden slowly lowered his arm and saw the blonde man crouched a little ways off with the giant sword held behind him. The man turned to Caden and nodded his head, as if to say thank you. With that gesture the man turned to the darkness and began going about destroying them. He was a blur. Caden could not believe what he was seeing. The rate at which this man moved was impossible. He wielded the giant blade as if it were light as a feather. Caden could only watch in awe as the man dispatched the remainder of the evil and slid the sword in to a leather carrier for it on his back.

Caden backed up a few steps as the man approached him. He stopped and seemed to be sizing Caden up.

"Who are you?" Asked the man suddenly. He was softspoken but you could hear the determination in his voice.

"Caden" the boy replied. He realized that he was shaking. He steeled himself and stuck out his hand. Caden looked at the mans face, trying to see what he was thinking. The man wasn't even that old. He actually looked to be about 22 or 23.

The man seemed to consider the boys hand for a second before taking it in a firm grasp and replying

"Caden. I thank you for what you did." Without any further introduction, the man turned and started walking away.

Caden eyes furrowed in frustration. "Hey, you did not even tell me your name."

The man stopped and turned his head to one side, as if to take one last look at his would be rescuer.

"Cloud Strife." With that said, the man turned and continued his trek down the beach.

"_Cloud Strife." _Caden stood frozen in the sand for a second, the ocean breeze whipping his hair around his face. "Hey wait up!" Caden yelled as he ran across the sand. He caught up to the man shortly, who was chuckling for some odd reason.

"So you want to tell me how you can move like that, or what the deuce those dark things are" Caden was now walking beside the man with his hands behind his head.

"I have fought the heartless a long time." Cloud replied, keeping his head towards the rising sun.

Caden seemed to mull this about in his head a while. His face in a deep confusion.

"Heartless huh?" "what are they called that for?"

Cloud sighed and looked at the boy. He was only about fifteen. He had shaggy brown hair and was wearing what looked to be pajamas. Cloud could sense the darkness around him though. As though he had been completely immersed. Yet he would not be standing here if that had happened. The boys eyes looked bright and eager, but deeper Cloud could see the pain.

"I trust you will find out soon enough." Cloud responded with a small wave of his hand.

Caden was starting to get a little frustrated with this man's demeanor. He did build him a little tree trunk fort after all.

Caden threw his hands up in exasperation. "Why does everything have to be so mysterious, why cant people just tell me what is going on. Its like for every question i ask, a thousand more take its place. Why do I hear voices. Why did darkness eat my house huh!?" Cloud just looked at Caden and then turned and kept walking

Caden was starting to get angry now. "Why did darkness take my fathers heart? Why cant it just go back to how it was?" Caden was almost out of breath now. He was sure that his man thought he was crazy but he did not care. He just stared at the man, willing him to answer his questions. Cloud turned to Caden again and stared at him with his piercing blue eyes. Caden almost faltered under his gaze but kept his own rebellious glare going strong.

"You still have your heart. With that you can overcome anything." Of the many Cloud could have said this was not what Caden had expected. He felt that Cloud knew so much more about what was happening to him than he let on but he also felt that Cloud had his own battles to fight.

" I never thanked you for saving me from the heartless back there,so uhh thanks." Caden stated with some discomfort.

Cloud chuckled "Just repaying the favor."

They continued on in silence for a few hours. Caden was caught up in thoughts of darkness and his father when Cloud pointed at some small buildings in the distance.

"I have some old friends that live there, Why don't we see if they can find a place for you to stay.

Caden looked rankled at the thought "Uuh are you sure that they would do that. they don't even know me.

Cloud just nodded. "They are not like other people. They are very....in-tune with their hearts."


	2. Cheerios and Lamps

Caden followed closely behind cloud as they made their way over to the group of small houses.

Caden was starting to get worried. What if these people did not like him? What if they did not have a place for him to stay?

Cloud seemed to notice that the boy seemed bothered. He just chuckled under his breath.

"Dont worry about it Caden. I would not bring you here if I was not sure that they would take you in."

Caden didn't say anything but inwardly he sighed in relief. Cloud continued. "They might be able to better explain to you why you are here as well."

At this Caden perked up. These people might be able to tell him what happened to his father! What happened to him. Caden hung back as Cloud approached the door of the house. He knocked twice and they both waited patiently for something to happen. Caden felt he could trust Cloud so he just took it in stride.

"_I wonder if these guys are warriors like Cloud." _Caden thought to himself. As if on que the door opened and there stood...a...Boy not much older than Caden?

"_What the deuce?"_

Nobody moved for a few the boy broke the silence as he catapulted out of the door way and onto Cloud, grasping him in a grand hug. "CLOUD! What are ya doin here?"

Cloud just grimaced as he pushed the boy off him. "Nice to see you as well Sora. I have someone that I think you should meet."

Caden had been standing off to the side just taking in the scene when all of a sudden it was directed to him.

"Hi" he muttered meekly.

Sora was not so meek however. He ran forward and thrust his hand out to Caden. "The names Sora. Whats yours?"

Caden met the young man's grip. "Caden." he said with a tad more confidence, the boys attitude seemed lighten his mood of its own accord.

"Well Caden, any friend of Cloud's is a friend of mine." Sora replied with great enthusiasm. "So uhh you guys should come inside." Caden noticed that Sora had not stopped grinning this whole time.

"_This cant be one of the people Cloud was talking about." _Caden thought to himself.

He glanced at cloud . He was smirking as if to hide his laughter. "Im sorry Sora but I've got to get back to Radiant Garden. I was wondering if you would take care of Caden here, He is in the same situation you found your self in at traverse town."

Sora's eye's went wide as he turned to Caden. "Woah..I mean yea..he can stay here. No problem."

Caden just looked at his feet again. He was glad that he had a place to stay but he wished Cloud would stay. He was not looking forward to those heartless showing up again. He put his hands behind his head and just muttered his thanks.

Cloud turned and started to walk away again but stopped as if having second thoughts. He turned around and faced Caden. "Ill see you again Caden, but remember, keep hold of your heart. It is more powerful than even the greatest darkness." He began walking again and both Sora and Caden watched him until he was just a spec on the beach.

Caden sighed put his hands on his head and turned and faced the ocean, seeking solace in its endless felt Sora put a hand on his shoulder. He did nothing, just kept his mind on the horizon. Then Sora Spoke.

"So what did the darkness take from you?"

There was such sincerity in his voice that Caden felt tears welling up beneath his eyes. Determined not to let this stranger see him cry, he shrugged off his hand and waded farther out in to the surf. After A few moments of silence, Caden turned with red, tired eyes and replied with one word.

"Everything."

As he saw Caden's face and the raw emotion in his eyes, Sora instantly remembered that night when darkness had visited This very island. He remembered how he had lost everything that he had loved as well. He remembered how Riku had fell into darkness, and Kairi was lost. He remembered how he had woken in traverse town and how alone he had felt,but he also remembered all the good times and friends he had made because of it and how he had conquered the darkness in the end.

He waded out in the waves to stand next to Caden. He threw an arm around his shoulder and pointed out to the horizon. "You see that sun going down?"

Caden was so tired that he had no choice but to humor the spiky haired boy. "Yea, so what?"

Sora just grinned his big toothy grin "Well Its going to come up tomorrow, No matter how dark it gets."

Caden could not help but smile. He was beginning to understand what Cloud had said. This Kid was Different.

They stood out in the surf for a while neither boy saying anything. Eventually it got dark and Sora suggested that they go inside. Caden was tired and decided that sleeping in a bed would be extremely nice.

They made their way inside, but before Caden could take a step further Sora turned to him with a finger on his lips, pointing at the couch that currently held his sleeping mother. Caden just nodded. Sora turned and began to step lightly across the wood floor, the younger boy following close behind.

They had almost made it out of the living room when Soras foot caught the cord of the lamp. Caden saw what was about to happen but did not say anything at the risk that he may wake Sora's mother. Sora took another step and with it the lamp was pulled crashing down.

"Ahhiieee!" Cried Sora as his face met the wood floor.

Caden just stayed crouched low with a hand over his mouth trying not to laugh. Sora just lye inert on the floor, listening for any sound of his mother waking up.

After a few seconds Sora pushed him self up quietly and turned back to Caden, motioning for him to go forward. Caden was still holding in a chuckle but it had mostly died down by this time.

They made It back to Soras room. Caden was surprised once again. It looked just like an ordinary teenagers room. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, band posters littered the walls. Sora flopped down on his bed and pointed at the couch on the other end of the room.

"You can sleep on the couch Caden, You look like you need the sleep." Caden fell back onto the couch, closing his eyes in comfort. Sora just laughed and flipped the lights off.

* * *

_Waking from his sleep Caden found him self in his old bed. A smile began to form on his lips as he threw off his covers and ran out of his room and down the hall way. He quickly ran down the steps and jumped the last few. _

_ He landed at his fathers door way. Slowly he opened the door and saw that no one was there. The smile fell from his face. Where was father? He turned and made his way through the living room and out the back door. He stood on the back porch and could see his fathers distant figure standing on the shore. _

_ With the smile once again forming on his face he ran as fast as he could down the wooden walk way to the beach. He felt the familiar sensation of sand on his feet and it just made him grin larger. He stopped when he was a few feet away from his father. He stood for a few seconds before breaking the silence. _

"_Dad?" _

_ His father turned and just grinned. Caden could feel the tears of joy brimming at his eyes. His father smiled held out a hand. Caden slowly reached out and met his fathers hand with his own._

_ **He loved you so much Caden.**_

When Caden awoke he had a smile on his face. He slowly sat up and glanced over at the bed. Sora was sprawled out with his head hanging over the side of the bed. Caden laughed quietly before he got up and left the room. He made his way to the kitchen and began looking for something to eat. He found the cabinet and opened it up.

"_Hmmmm. He's got to have some cereal."_

Caden saw what he was looking for and reached up for the box of cheerios, when all of a sudden he heard a woman scream behind him.

"_Oh crap, the mom!"_

He turned slowly, holding the box of cheerios. He grinned sheepisly and scratched his head.

"Umm hi. You must be Sora's mom."

The woman calmed at the mention of her sons name yet she still seemed a bit on edge. She crossed her arms and glowered at Caden.

"Yes, and who might you be, other than a cheerio thief?" At this Caden set the box on the counter and began thinking of an explanation for the angry matriarch.

"Well..uh my name is Caden and I... um....."He faltered under the womans glare. Sora walked in however and saved the situation.

"Oh yea mom sorry Caden's parents went out of town for the weekend and he needed a place to stay. You were sleeping so I thought I would just tell you this morning."

The woman looked from Her son to Caden and then back to her son again. Her eyes softened and she dropped her arms to her sides.

"Well thats fine then. He can stay as long as needed." She then turned back to Caden. "Just dont eat all my cheerios." Caden just laughed nervously.

"Well son I have got to go to work. Why don't you and Caden go down to the beach today, its to nice to stay in all day." Sora just nodded his head "Yea mom. We will." At this she took one last look at both the boys and closed the door.

Sora bursted out in to a fit of laughter, hands on his knees. Caden just grinned then broke out into laughter as well. After a few minutes Sora noticed that Caden was still wearing the pajamas that he had on when he first met him.

"Hey caden I might have some clothes you could wear" At this he ran back to his room and emerged a moment later with some red shorts and a white white t-shirt.

"You can change and meet me down on the beach when your ready." this being said Sora ran out of the house and jumped off the porch. Caden just laughed at his new found friend's energy.

Caden emerged from the house with his new clothes on. They fit rather well. He scanned the shore line for Sora and saw him standing over near the dock with two other people. As he started running in their direction he saw what seemed to be an older boy with long grey hair push Sora into the water. Their was a red headed girl who sat on a nearby tree and laughed at the antics of the boys.

Caden reached them and waved to Sora as the latter was helped out of the surf by The Grey haired boy.

"Hey Caden." Sora called as he spat sea water out of his mouth. "This is Riku" he said pointing at the older boy, who just nodded at Caden. "and this is Kairi" he said as he helped the redhead up off the log.

She ran forward suddenly and gave Caden a hug. Caden just froze with his hands to his sides. The girl just held him tighter.

"Im so sorry about your home. Sora told us what happened."

With this she released him and looked into his eyes. She had very bright green eyes, they seemed to be searching him for something. Caden just shuffled his feet and put his hands up on his head.

"Um. Yea. Thanks." He did not know really what to say. She continued "Well you can just live here, with us then okay?" at this Caden looked up and smiled. "Sure that sounds good."

They all looked stood in silence for a few seconds before Riku spoke up. "So Caden do you know how to fight?"

Caden just shook his head. "No, not at all." Riku crossed his arms. "Well if the heartless come back then you will have to be able to defend your self."

Caden just nodded. "Yea I know. I was hoping Cloud would be able to teach me something but he left pretty quickly." Riku reached behind the log and grabbed two wooden swords and turned to Caden "Sora and I are decent fighters. We can teach you how to handle your self."

At this Sora scoffed. "Maybe your decent but I am awesome." Riku just smirked and threw one of the swords to Sora. "Alright If your so awesome lets see if you can beat me." Kairi just sighed and sat back down on the log. "boys will be boys."

Caden just leaned against a tree interested to see If these guys were as good of warriors as cloud was.

He doubted it.

Caden looked on as Sora took a crouched position with the sword in both hands, dangling out to the side. Riku just held the sword behind him with one hand and taunted Sora with the other. Neither one seemed to want to make the first move. They both were trying to stare the other one down. Caden was wondering what they were thinking. Kairi suddenly stood up on the log and cupped her hands to her mouth.

"Come on already you pansies!"

At this Riku smirked. Sora returned the gesture and streaked forward at an incredible speed. The moment before he met Riku he jumped and brought his sword up with him. Riku jumped as well and blocked. They began trading blows all the while never touching the ground. The momentum of their swings keeping them afloat. Each swung with all their might and the result was a clash that sent them both spiraling towards the ground. They both landed on their feet however and Riku decided to go on the offensive this time. Sora was still recovering from the midair clash as Riku was suddenly upon him. Sora was hard pressed to stop all the blows.

Caden mean while had yet to pick his jaw up from the ground. Kairi noticed his expression and just giggled. "Yea. Sora and Riku are really powerful. You should see them with their keyblades."

Caden just ignored her. He was too entranced by the show of force in front of him. _"Man there is no way that ill be able to fight like that!"_

Sora meanwhile had turned the tide back in his favor and was currently locking blow for blow with Riku. He saw an opening and grinned. As his wooden sword moved in for the final strike Riku leapt back suddenly and channeled what looked to be darkness into his hand, gathering it in his palm "Dark Aura!" he shouted suddenly. As he did the dark ball shot forward and exploded on Sora sending him flying back into the ocean.

Caden was shocked. There was no way Sora could survive that kind of blast. He looked over at Kairi and saw that she was still just giggling. Caden just shook his head. _"These people are totally insane."_

All of a sudden Caden saw Sora emerge from the water looking completely fine other than the angry look on his face. He walked up to Riku and threw the sword into the sand. "No one said anything about any powers Riku. You cheated."

Riku just smirked for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning and just bent and picked up the sword. "Who were you saying was awesome again?"

Caden looked on in awe. He could not believe the strength that these two held. Maybe Cloud was right. He walked over and sat next down to Kairi on the log.

"What did you say about a keyblade?"


End file.
